David Bell Needs Discipline

Everyone loves a manager who gets emotional and thrown out consistently, right? Wrong. David Bell is a new manager so I get him trying to spark a fire, but it cannot be done every single weekend. The Pirates situation with Archer beaming Dietrich is one of the few times I agree with getting yourself thrown out, but arguing balls and strikes in a 0-0 game with Sonny pitching lights out probably is not a good idea. But look, he’s new. He doesn’t know what to do, he’s figuring it out on the fly. But here are some suggestions for him…

Derek Dietrich needs to be in the lineup every single day. It’s rare that you get a home grown talent with as much passion that Dietrich plays with. When you have that, you use it. He’s batting .277 with a .896 slugging percentage and it’s evident he is the heart and soul of this team so far. With Scooter being out for a long while, give Derek a chance to prove himself and play with that Cincinnati pride that everyone loves.

Another thing Bell needs to do is trust his pitching. It is early so pitchers are on a pitch count, but there is no reason to pull Castillo after 5 when he is throwing a 2 hit game. There is no reason to pitch Hernandez day in and day out. I get the early switching, I get the short leash but not this early in the season. Baseball is a beautiful sport and it is 162 games long. Who cares if you struggle out of the gate, you think the Red Sox are worried? Let your pitchers work out their issues on the mound, there is no better way. Like Alex Cora said, Chris Sale was finding his groove against the Yankees but they lost and he allowed 5 runs. Cora was optimistic because Sale was throwing 98/99 and was working on his issues. Bell needs to let his pitchers do that as well.

Lastly, just relax. Every time I see Bell, he looks tight as hell. Have some fun dude. You’re with the oldest franchise in MLB history, they’re going to have some leeway with you. This team is something special, they just need to work out their kinks. It is the NL Central, so a record barely above .500 might win it for you so just relax and enjoy the ride. It’s a long season for a reaosn.